Sad news today from the world of dance: Merce Cunningham, the great American modernist dancer and choreographer (and lifelong companion and collaborator of composer John Cage) died yesterday in New York City at the age of 90.

The Cunningham Dance Foundation and Merce Cunningham Dance Company will receive visitors today in the Merce Cunningham Studio from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

(Personal anecdote: I once eavesdropped on a conversation that Cage and Cunningham were having in a GAP store on 7th Ave and 18th Street. They were both in GAP ads, I guess, and got gift certificates for GAP clothing. Neither one of them seemed to know what to get and so they both opted for a bunch of black tee-shirts)

Merce Cunningham Dance Company (official site)

Merce Cunningham, Choreographer, Dies at 90 (New York Times obituary)

Merce Cunningham on Charlie Rose (video)